Hidden Knowledge
by Lady Shera
Summary: REPOST: "I also got a box for Hikaru. I just hope he likes peppermint." Who would have guessed such a harmless-sounding statement would cause a panic for Kaoru? He sure as heck didn't. Thanks for all your reviews.


**HIDDEN KNOWLEDGE**

**By Tsukiko Hitachiin**

_**Notes and Disclaimer**__: As always, Ouran High School Host Club is not my intellectual property. Bisco Hatori, one of the most talented manga artists of all time, is the rightful owner. I am writing this fanfic for the love of the series. I am not making any money off this fanfic. So please do not sue me. Thank you. Oh, and this fic takes place between Chapter 45 and Chapter 53 of the manga, so it's a little spoiler-ish. _

Early Sunday morning at the Hitachiin estate was especially quiet, especially since it was 4:45 in the morning and still pitch black outside. The enormous house full of hundreds of servants, guards, and housekeepers was devoid of any noise except for the soft breathing and occasional snoring of said servants, who would not wake up for at least another hour to cook breakfast and start resuming their duties for the family they served.

Despite the darkness that permeated most of the house, in one small study in the back corner of the east wing, a light was on and a plasma-screen television played a DVD at a very low volume. The room was isolated enough that none of the servants would hear it since they were one level up anyway and the floor and walls were soundproof.

It was in this room that Keizo Hitachiin, husband of Yuzuha Hitachiin and father of Hikaru and Kaoru, sat in dark blue pajamas and a crimson bathrobe and watched the American movie _Breach_ while sipping African red vanilla tea.

At least he _was_ watching before. The movie had now finished and all the older man did was stare at the never-ending loop on the main menu screen. He was too tired to get up and change out the DVD, but at the same time, sleep currently eluded him.

Unlike his wife and sons, Keizo was not a very heavy sleeper. In fact, his job had started to take its toll on his health leading to numerous sleepless nights. A dizzy spell and near collapse at his office was enough to convince him to take some time off to rest and recuperate before he got an ulcer or worse. He had left his assistant, Makoto, in charge of business matters while he was away and would be reachable only in emergency through his private secretary at home. While he rested, he thought of all the times he had been too busy to think much about his family. As he reflected, he realized how lucky he was to have such a gorgeous and warmhearted wife and two wonderful sons.

_Yuzuha_…

Then he remembered that his wife was going to Paris later this week to get ready for yet another fashion show. The woman seemed to have boundless energy like a feisty little spark that always crackled out of a fireplace trying to escape. Keizo sighed sadly as he thought of how lonely and disparate his and Yuzuha's lives had become because of their respective careers. They never could see each other as much as they wanted to. Only during their respective birthdays (hers on August 5th and his on October 14th), holidays, their anniversary, and at several of their sons' school events could the couple really be together.

He briefly wondered if his wife ever had time to think of him or their boys. He hoped that she did. He loved that woman and the sons she had given him more dearly than anything, even though they were so often apart.

Muffled footsteps outside in the corridor interrupted his thoughts. Muting the television, the fatigued dark-haired man set down his cup, rubbed some tiredness out of his dark almond eyes, and turned toward the slowly opening door.

Standing in the doorway wearing slightly rumpled red plaid pajama bottoms and a plain dark gray tank top was the younger of his two sons. Kaoru rubbed his bleary gold eyes and brushed his bangs back from his head with one hand while quietly shutting the door with the other.

The twins' father hadn't seen his sons for the past three weeks because of a series of projects he had been completing in Cairo that kept him away and left without any time to think about anything but business. Yet for some reason, he always knew which son was which, even if his wife still had to guess from time to time. It was knowledge that he had retained since his sons were born, and never revealed to anyone.

Particularly since no one had ever bothered to ask.

_I wonder why Kaoru looks so sad…_

"You're up early, son. Can't sleep?" Keizo smiled and greeted the younger man softly, just loud enough so that the boy could hear. Kaoru blinked a couple of times, then followed the sound of the voice and turned toward its source.

"Dad! I haven't seen you in such a long time. Has your work been that much?" The younger Hitachiin twin smiled as he headed to the adjacent empty recliner to get a better look at his father's face. Young amber eyes met older dark hazel eyes and Keizo noticed a slight aura of loneliness emanating from his son.

An aura that Kaoru was determined to hide.

Keizo understood. All his life he had been shy and was hesitant to let anyone—even his family—see too much of his personality. He instead preferred that his wife be the powerful familial presence. She had always been better at it anyway.

"Well, the company decided to give me a little time off, particularly after my three weeks in Cairo. We were just running around non-stop, and I think it wore me out. But don't worry; I'll be okay. Oh, and I brought you something." Keizo reached under the table and pulled out some wrapped gifts. One gift was wrapped in blue tissue and the other gift in orange tissue. Both of them were identical otherwise. The elder Hitachiin handed his son the gift in orange tissue while sticking the blue gift back under the table. "Open it."

Kaoru examined the box-shaped gift that felt very light in his hand. Carefully tearing off the paper, he found a box of Egyptian anise tea. The youth regarded the box thoughtfully and then turned to his father when he heard him speak again.

"One of my coworkers says that this particular tea is very good for sore throats and helps with one's voice. I drink it every now and then whenever my throat gets dry from all that talking in front of people." Keizo chuckled for a moment. "It's very good with honey."

Kaoru smiled brightly for his father. "Thank you for the gift, Dad. I think I'll try some right now." With that, Kaoru got up and started for the door. Even through the box he could smell the fragrant tea and couldn't wait to taste it.

"I also got a box for Hikaru. I just hope he likes peppermint," Keizo responded in an offhanded way, not realizing his son was still within earshot.

Kaoru turned around sharply. _What did Dad just say?_

"Something wrong?" Keizo asked his now wide-eyed son who was still clutching the box of anise tea.

"Dad. You just said that you got Hikaru some peppermint tea."

"Yes, I did. Why? Since when does your brother not like peppermint, because I can always exchange…" But the younger man cut his father off.

"No, Dad! You said you got _Hikaru_ peppermint tea. How do you know that _I'm_ not Hikaru?"

Kaoru was looking very agitated all of a sudden. One of the hallmarks of his and his brother's existence was their contradictory nature. They wanted to be understood, and yet they didn't want to be to be understood. They wanted to be told apart, and yet they didn't want to be told apart. Even their own mother to this day could not always tell them apart because they were so alike. She always made it into a game into guessing which twin was Hikaru and the twins in turn took the game of "Which one is Hikaru" and used it as a defense mechanism to keep people from getting too close.

That is, until Haruhi Fujioka had come along and seen through them like cheap underwear.

Then a thought had occurred to Kaoru. _Mom always played the "which one is Hikaru game" and got it right only about half the time. But I don't remember Dad _ever_ playing that game. He was always away on business, wasn't he? But if he never played the game…how does he know? Could he have known all along how to distinguish me from my brother, and just never let on that he knew?_

Then Keizo laughed softly at seeing the bewildered look on his boy's face. "Kaoru, I know it's you. The one that isn't Hikaru is you and the one that isn't you is Hikaru. It's that simple."

"But Dad, _no one_ has ever guessed right at the "Which one is Hikaru" game, except for Haruhi Fujioka."

"Well, that's because she never went by looks. Except for your hair parting, you two look exactly alike. After all, you and Hikaru are _identical twins _if memory serves me correctly. And that's why guessing by looks alone is no good." Keizo reclined backwards and poured some more vanilla tea.

Kaoru sat back down and placed the still-unopened box of tea on the table next to the cast-iron teapot in which his father had brewed his own tea. He watched his father intently as the older man finished sipping and set his cup down.

"I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. You want to know how exactly it is that I can distinguish you from your brother, right?" Keizo turned to his son who nodded solemnly and rubbed his hands in an unconsciously nervous fashion.

"Well, you're younger by about a minute or two. Your mother would know for certain. You've always been quieter and you let your brother take the lead in your various schemes and pranks. Obviously your bangs swing to your right, whereas brother's bangs go in the exact opposite direction. You're also more thoughtful, while your brother is more impatient and impulsive. He always has been. You have a slightly softer voice while your brother's voice is rougher and more, shall we say, _intimidating_. It's as if he's intent on keeping the world at a distance. But there is an undercurrent of fear and insecurity that he's always trying to mask."

Keizo rattled off these facts to his son as if he was giving a presentation on some random software concept to a co-worker. Kaoru listened and tried to find some way of contradicting his father, perhaps as a last ditch effort to keep the mystery of his identity. Unfortunately he couldn't think of anything because what his father said up to this point was absolutely true, and the next thing his father said completely ripped the tatami mat out from under him.

"But there is one way that I tell you two apart that trumps all others. And you have to promise not to laugh." Kaoru watched his father wag his finger in mock-chastisement.

"What's that?" Kaoru finally asked tentatively.

"The real way I tell you and Hikaru apart is that Hikaru's actions are one level more like your mother's than yours."

Upon hearing this, the teenager found himself fighting to keep a straight face. All these years, and it never had occurred to him that Hikaru was so much like the brilliant world-renowned fashion designer Yuzuha Hitachiin.

But then it all made sense. The mother of the Hitachiin brothers was a definite influence on their behavior, especially Hikaru's. All those plots and games to get Haruhi to dress up as a girl had been his and Hikaru's doing. But Hikaru, and by extension, their mother, had initiated these schemes, and Kaoru, being the younger twin, naturally followed his older brother without question. In addition, Kaoru reflected, Hikaru had always been kind of "motherly" towards his brother, always protecting him, worrying about him, and fussing over him without even being aware of where these instincts were coming from. Hikaru had acted as a brother and a mother rolled into one.

Hikaru was, essentially, a _mama's boy!_

It was too much. Kaoru burst out laughing, while Keizo just looked at his son impassively. _Oh well. I guess Kaoru needs to laugh every now and again. It beats seeing him looking sad._

"Kaoru…"

The twin wiped his eyes. "Sorry, Dad, but I just couldn't stop myself."

"I know. I figured you couldn't."

After he composed himself, Kaoru took a breath and faced his father again. "But if you'd known all this time…"

"You want to know why I never said so," Keizo finished the sentence. Placing his hands on his knees and standing up for a long stretch, the twins' father picked up the remote and switched off the still-muted television. "Well, Kaoru, let me ask you one thing."

Kaoru nodded. "What?"

"If what I say is true, and Hikaru and your mother found out, do you think we'd ever hear the end of it?" Keizo sat down again and tried to pour another cup of vanilla tea. Unfortunately, the pot was empty now. That didn't faze the older man, however, and he set the tea pot to the other side of the table while taking out the blue-wrapped box and another well-wrapped gift in magenta which until now had been hidden in a small cabinet under the table.

Meanwhile the younger Hitachiin pondered his father's words. He only needed to think for a few seconds before he shook his head slowly.

"You're right, son. And I get the funny feeling that our moment of peace is now finished," Keizo replied as he got up once again and walked to the door. He stopped in front of it and put his hand on the solid wood.

"Just how long do you two intend to stand there and listen?" The older man turned the knob and opened the door wide, revealing his wife and other son who had been standing outside hearing the entire conversation.

Hikaru, who had been leaning on the door, lost his balance and tumbled down to the carpet. He was wearing a black tank top that looked almost like his brother's, except more worn, and he was wearing green plaid pajama bottoms. Kaoru went to his brother's side immediately and helped him up, grinning softly and pulling him out of the doorway. Hikaru just looked sullen and sleep-worn and he curtly swept his bangs out of his eyes in the opposite direction that his brother had done earlier.

Yuzuha, on the other hand, had managed to maintain her balance by clutching the doorway on both sides with her slender manicured hands. But she composed herself and cinched her satin lavender bathrobe tightly to keep from revealing her designer nightwear any more than she wanted to _outside_ the bedroom. The twins' mother immediately marched past her sons and stood toe-to-toe with her husband, strong annoyance flashing in her golden eyes.

"Keizo! Why are you up at this hour? You should be in bed! Honestly, it's way too early for anyone to be up and around, especially you! I turn over in my sleep and all I feel are cold sheets where you should be. You need _rest_, Keizo. Remember how you nearly passed out at your job or do I need to remind you?"

While Yuzuha chastised her husband, Hikaru turned to his brother with an equally annoyed countenance, grabbed him by the shoulders and started fussing with the same irritated and concerned voice as their mother.

"Kaoru! Where the hell have you been? Do you have any idea how worried I was? I wake up from a bad dream and you aren't there to comfort me. Need I remind you that I don't sleep very well unless you're in the room with me? What on earth were you doing awake so damn early in the morning?"

The Hitachiin matriarch and her older son continued their chastisements while the respective subjects of their anxiety listened without interrupting.

But then Keizo and Kaoru shared a look and their thoughts were exactly the same.

_So much for peaceful family bonding_.

A/N: After reading volume 6 of the manga, I got my first glimpse of the Hitachiin parents and wondered more about what they were like. Later, I read Chapter 45, and got a better idea. Since then, I had just been curious about what kind of a person the twins' father was, since he was always shy and quiet and walking behind his wife unnoticed. He's actually pretty darn observant, and knows which of his sons is which, even if they don't know he knows. (Whether he's always known, or if he just garners the knowledge from his wife's incorrect guessing is a complete mystery.) Anyway, hope you liked it.

P.S. Look closely at the way the twins' parents part their hair. That's a _big clue!_


End file.
